The Associated Press

WASHINGTON — FBI Director Robert Mueller says al-Qaida and its offshoots are spreading and rebuilding.

He says the U.S. dismantled much of al-Qaida's infrastructure in Afghanistan, but the terror network and its associated groups are rebuilding in Pakistan, Yemen, and the Horn of Africa.

Mueller is testifying Wednesday at a Senate hearing in the wake of the Christmas bomb attack attempt on a Detroit-bound airliner. The suspect in that attack has told investigators he was trained in Yemen by al-Qaida associates.

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In a series of hearings before Congress, the Obama administration is trying to ease a jittery public's concerns about security, and answer challenges from Republicans who say the administration has not done enough to make the country safe.